There has been a lot of debate recently about true crime podcasts and the effect they have. This discussion began over the recent and tragic homicide of Gabby Petitio who was traveling across the country with her boyfriend. Social media and crime podcasts were quick to get cracking on this case and tried to come up with answers. But with that came a whole wave of people who were attacking the true-crime podcast community, and saying that people who support these kinds of podcasts are trying to achieve some “fantasy” or “fulfillment” of getting attention from attempting to solve these crimes. But there is an importance to true crime podcasts that people need to understand.
It is terrifying to think of all the horrific acts that happen to people, and it is even more terrifying to believe that these things can happen to anyone. That humans can be so absolutely evil to other humans. The reason I think that many people have an “obsession” with true crime is that at the end of the day we all want to feel safe, and that begins with learning and educating ourselves on all the different crimes. We need to understand what drives people to commit these crimes, and why they do it. We need some insight into the mind of a killer in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
True crime podcasts are not a community that is just looking for attention and a paycheck, but people who actually want to bring attention to cases that have been forgotten. People who want to bring awareness to the problems within the justice system, and to give people information so that you know how to protect yourselves from the danger in the world. They provide endless information on how you can help, and how if we all come together we can give people the justice they deserve. I think that everyone should take the time to listen to a true-crime podcast, and here are a couple that I recommend.
The most impactful true-crime podcast out there is Crime Junkie, hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. Crime Junkie was created by these two women who not only have a strong interest in true crime but who truly care and want to get justice for all of those who are no longer able to speak. There is also True Crime Obsessed hosted by Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavelle. In this podcast, they review a different crime documentary every episode. Gillian and Patrick I think do the best job of highlighting the biggest flaws in the justice system, and how it ruins lives. What both of these podcasts do so well is that they bring people together to bring awareness to cases that need justice. At the end of the day, we are all normal people, and these horrible crimes happen to normal people by evil people. We need all the information that we can in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and that comes from listening to these cases and the stories behind them.